The invention relates to a collecting bag for human body wastes comprising a bag member formed by two film blanks with joined edges, an inlet opening provided in one of said film blanks, connecting elements surrounding said inlet opening for connection of the bag to a body orifice, a narrowed, elongated discharge portion starting at a proximal end at a distance from the inlet opening and extending between two end sections of said film blanks to a distal end, a discharge opening formed in said discharge portion in the vicinity of said distal end, and a closure device being provided for bringing the discharge portion from an open discharge position to a closed position of use, the closure device comprising a first and a second closure means, both of which are activated in said position of use.
These types of drainable collecting bags are often used as ostomy bags. In the case of ileostomy patients and colostomy patients with uncontrolled release of feces of a more or less fluid consistence, the collecting bag has to be emptied rather frequently, and the closure device thus has to be easy to open and reclose after emptying and at the same time provide a reliable and tight seal in operation, i.e., between emptyings.
Several different designs of closure devices have been developed and are generally known.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,125,133 discloses a clamp type closure device comprising a blade like wedge member and a U-shaped trough member which are hingedly connected at one end and are clamped together around the discharge portion of the collecting bag.
Another type of closure device is shown in eg. DK-B-153 206 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 4,988,343) and published international application No. WO96/19164, in which the discharge portion is rolled up on a clip fastened to one of the film blanks, near the discharge opening.
Although closure devices of the clip or clamp category have proven effective over the years, there are a number of inconveniences connected with such a closure.
As a consequence of their construction, these known closure devices suffer from the drawback that they are rather bulky and may thus be seen under the user""s clothing and are often made from a stiff material, or a softer material having stiff reinforcing elements, implying a risk of irritating or chafing the skin. As a consequence, the user will not experience the desired discretion and comfort of wear, and the closure device will render the collecting bag unpleasant to use.
In order to alleviate these problems, another category of closure devices has been developed and is for instance shown in GB patent applications Nos. 2 268 065 and 2 000 683, in which strips of the interlocking-elements type, such as Velcro (registered trademark), are placed on each of the film blanks of the discharge portion and which after rolling or folding the discharge portion tightly are brought into contact with each other.
A common drawback in both of these categories of known closure devices is, however, that when opening the closure in order to empty the bag, there is a risk that the contents of the bag will flow out of the discharge opening beyond the user""s control, in particular if the bag is filled almost to capacity and/or flatus has gathered in the bag and the closure device is thus under pressure.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,831 discloses a collecting bag in which a clamp holds the folded distal end of the discharge portion together in the closed position of use of the bag. In the position of use, the folded discharge portion is accommodated in a pouch provided at the proximal end of the discharge portion, the pouch being closed by means of a zipper-like slide fastener. Due to the structure of the elements of the closure device, opening and closing of the bag require some dexterity, e.g., the, discharge portion has to be held manually within the pouch when activating the slide fastener and has to be withdrawn from the pouch in order to empty the bag. In addition to the bulkiness of the clamp type closure discussed above, the use of a slide fastener renders the manufacture of the closure device expensive and cumbersome, especially as the slide fastener has to be air-tight in order to prevent escape of odor from the discharge portion.
The object of the present invention is to improve a collecting bag of the kind mentioned in the introduction with respect to ease of operation, security against leakage and manufacturing conditions.
For achieving this, a collecting bag according to the invention is provided, said collecting bag comprising a bag member formed by two film blanks with joined edges, an inlet opening provided in one of said film blanks, connecting elements surrounding said inlet opening for connection of the bag to a body orifice, a narrowed, elongated discharge portion starting at a proximal end at a distance from the inlet opening and extending between two end sections of said film blanks to a distal end, a discharge opening formed in said discharge portion in the vicinity of said distal end, and a closure device being provided for bringing the discharge portion from an open discharge position to a closed position of use, the closure device comprising a first and a second closure means, both of which are activated in said position of use, wherein said closure device is arranged for opening and closing of the bag by successive operation of said first and second closure means in two distinct stages separated an intermediate position of the discharge portion, in which only the first closure means is activated, the first closure means comprises a first pair of contact surfaces between a first folding line and a second folding line and the first folding line and a limiting line, respectively, said contact surfaces being brought into contact by folding the discharge portion along said first folding line and are held in this position in the intermediate position and the position of use, and said contact surfaces of said first pair are provided on a carrier plate or carrier plates fastened to one of the film blanks.
By carrying out the opening of the bag in two distinct stages, namely a first stage consisting in opening the second closure means and subsequently directing the discharge portion into the correct position over a toilet or the like in the intermediate position of the bag, and a second stage in which the first closure means is opened simply by releasing the contact between the contact surfaces of the first pair, a very controlled discharge of the bag contents is achieved. Moreover, an improved safety against leakage during the use of the bag is obtained by the provision of the carrier plate or plates. Eventually, rinsing of the discharge portion after emptying of the bag is made more secure as this operation may be carried out in the intermediate position of the bag, ie., when the first closure means is activated and thus prevents newly discharged body wastes from soiling the discharge opening again. In comparison with the collecting bag of U.S. Pat. No. 2,520,831, the bag according to the invention provides for an easier operation requiring less dexterity and furthermore, the use of pre-defined contact surfaces makes the activating/deactivating order of the closing/opening stages logical and obvious to the user. At the same time, the collecting bag according to the invention offers an improved security against leakage, as the first closure means is capable of holding the bag closed as the second closure means only provides an additional protection against leakage.
In an advantageous embodiment, at least one of the contact surfaces of said first pair comprises a layer of adhesive capable of repeated adhesion. By this design, a very low thickness of the collecting bag in the position of use is obtained thus rendering the collecting bag almost unnoticeable under the wearer""s clothes.
With a view to optional design of the closure device, the first closure means may either be provided at the proximal end of the discharge portion, or, in an alternative embodiment, in the vicinity of the distal end of the discharge portion.
A particularly advantageous design of the collecting bag is obtained in combination with an embodiment, in which the second closure means comprises a second pair of contact surfaces, in which said contact surfaces are brought into contact and are held in this position in the position of use of the bag and in which at least one of the contact surfaces is provided on a carrier plate. Preferably, at least one of the contact surfaces of said second pair comprises a layer of adhesive capable of repeated adhesion.
With this design, a particularly flat collecting bag is obtained and the same time, it is possible to provide the discharge portion with a considerable length in comparison to known bags, which facilitates the control of the discharge portion and the emptying of the bag even further.
In a further embodiment, the collecting bag according to the invention is characterized in that the other contact surface of said second pair at least partly is provided on the same film blank as said one contact surface of said second pair at an end zone thereof; and that a flap is provided in connection with said one contact surface of said second pair, said flap being foldable along a third folding line and being provided with a layer of adhesive capable of repeated adhesion and constituting one contact surface of a third pair, the other contact surface of said third pair being provided on the opposite film blank of the discharge portion.
The other contact surface of said third pair is preferably provided opposite the contact surface of said first pair situated between the first and second folding lines, and said flap has a length substantially corresponding to the distance between the third folding line and the proximal end of the discharge portion, the discharge portion being folded onto the bag member along the second folding line and the limiting line in the position of use of the bag.
By this embodiment, a particularly compact and fluid tight design is provided, due to the fact that the contact between the third pair of contact surfaces contributes to an additional tightening of the contact between the first pair of contact surfaces as the contents of the bag exert a pressure on the first closure means.
In a further development of the above-mentioned alternative embodiment, said one contact surface of the second pair is provided at the proximal end of the discharge portion or at a section of the bag member adjacent the discharge portion.